It’s hard to find fun things to do that are dog-inclusive, so when we do I get very, very excited! Yesterday we decided to take a leisurely Sunday drive and happened upon the Kilby Historic site which is about 25 minutes from Abbotsford, or 90 minutes from Vancouver. This historical property houses several original buildings and artifacts from the town of Harrison Mills, but most importantly for me, it’s also dog-friendly! This, combined with the fact that the site is littered with friendly farm animals made it a perfect family destination.

The first rural creatures we encountered were the chickens and ducks that are allowed to roam freely. At first I was nervous that Cash would attack them, but he seemed mostly disinterested in them, if not slightly afraid.

Roxy, on the other hand, was very comfortable with all of the animals and greeted them with gusto much to their disdain.

"Oh hey buddy!"

Next up was the adorable Jersey cow calf that towered over Cash, giving him quite a fright. Why can’t I have a farm full of adorable animals?

My favourite had to be the delightfully fluffy sheep. This teddy bear-esque fella was also the habitant that scared Cash the least.

Next up we went to visit the resident horse, Blue. I’ve always had a dream of owning horses one day, and was very excited to introduce Cash and Roxy to these magical creatures. At first Cash seemed curious, but once Blue got closer and Cash realized how large he loomed, he booked it. This was the animal that scared Cash the most. No horse rides for him, I suppose.

Around back, behind the General Store museum, is where they harbour the tiniest creatures at the site, two hutches full of adorable, scruffy rabbits. The white one is exactly how I picture the Easter Bunny to be…

Cash refused to approach the hutch, but Roxy was quite curious and seemed to really like their pungent odour.

Following our visit with the rabbits, Roxy and I discovered an exquisite treehouse and decided to check it out. Cash was worried that we were stuck, and decided to try to rescue us.

After all of our fun and exploring, the dogs really didn’t want to leave!

But Jer was kind enough to bribe us all with ice cream.

This was the first time I’ve allowed the dogs to eat ice cream and they loved it! (Quel surprise, right?) Cash liked vanilla, whereas Roxy preferred Bubblegum (just like me!)

If you’re looking for fun, inexpensive, dog-friendly outings, you should definitely check with your local historical sites, museums, pumpkin patches, and other seasonal, tourist-driven activities to see if well behaved, leashed dogs are welcome. It really is worth it!

www.Kilby.ca